screenings of a diverse range of films. Estimated Materials Cost: $100.00
Major elective
Prerequisite: FAV-5105
Permission of Instructor Required Fee: $50.00
(SPRING)
FAV 5110 DOCUMENTARY PRODUCTION
3 credits Peter O'Neill
Students in this course will produce two projects: a video camera exercise based on the observation of a particular event, and a fully researched and developed social documentary (the interaction of people in small groups or organizations) worked out in consultation with the instructor. Production teams (pairs) are encouraged for the main project. Weekly screenings of non-fiction films demonstrate stylistic developments and variety of content. Assigned readings in the history and theory of documentary promote in-class discussion.
Estimated Materials Cost: $120.00 Deposit: $150.00
Major elective
Prerequisite: 3 credits from courses FAV-5103 or FAV- W519
Permission of Instructor Required Fee: $75.00
(SPRING)
FAV 5111 STOP-MOTION ANIMATION
3 credits Agnieszka Woznicka
This is a course demonstrating and exploring the basic techniques of Stop-Motion Puppet Animation, with the intent to provide students with hands-on creative experience in learning the potentials of the medium, and an introduction to filmic language. Studio exercises strengthen individual technical skills in basic armature construction and model making, animating pose-to-pose movement, the basic walk, expressions and gestures, clay animation with lip-sync, set construction and lighting for three-dimensional animation. Basic sound recording, mixing and editing are also covered. Conceptual skills are exercised through exploring intent, storytelling, storyboarding, editorial concepts, character performance, art direction, and basic sound design. This class is based on process and experimentation. It is meant to provide a strong foundation in the basics of stop-motion animation filmmaking, as well as the confidence to
experiment further in one's future work. The idea is to enjoy the process by understanding it; control is born of
experimentation and experience.
This is a one semester class repeated in the spring. First preference given to FAV majors. Second preference given to Illustration majors.
Estimated Materials Cost: $40.00
Major elective
Permission of Instructor Required Fee: $200.00
(FALL/SPRING)
FAV 5112 SOUND FOR THE SCREEN
3 credits Lukas Johnson
Students in this course become engaged with sound as a partner in the language of time-based media. Through selected screenings, readings, and concept-driven design projects, the students develop ideas they can use as design principles in planning and working with sound. In addition, students get a hands-on overview of working with sound in a contemporary production environment, focusing on
microphones, field recorders, and Pro Tools DAW software. Students learn to be better listeners and to be aware of how sound affects their perception of the world around them, as well as becoming technically competent to execute their creative ideas.
Estimated Materials Cost: $50.00 Deposit: $150.00
Major elective
Prerequisite: 3 credits from courses FAV-5100 or FAV-5103 Permission of Instructor Required
Fee: $50.00
(FALL/SPRING)
FAV 5113 INTERMEDIATE STUDIO: VIDEO 3 credits John Terry/Julie Mallozzi/Daniel Peltz This year-long video production studio focuses on a search for the specificity of the video medium through a series of structured experiments. Emphasis is placed on video production for alternate exhibition environments:
installation, performance, web and multimedia. A web-based video dialogue project is conducted, bringing students into contact with their international peers in various countries, in order to explore the potential of networked production environments.
Estimated Materials Cost: $125.00 Deposit: $150.00
Major requirement; FAV majors
Registration by FAV department, course not available via web registration
Prerequisite: FAV-5103
Permission of Instructor Required Fee: $195.00
(FALL)
FAV 5114 INTERMEDIATE STUDIO: VIDEO 3 credits Daniel Peltz/Julie Mallozzi
This year-long video production studio focuses on a search for the specificity of the video medium through a series of structured experiments. Emphasis is placed on video production for alternate exhibition environments:
installation, performance, web and multimedia. The Spring semester continues and extends the web dialogue, and encourages students to create more substantial projects. Estimated Materials Cost: $125.00 Deposit: $150.00
Major requirement; FAV majors
Registration by FAV department, course not available via web registration
Film / Animation /Video Course Descriptions 2015 - 2016
FAV 5115 DIGITAL FOUNDATION
3 credits Dennis Hlynsky/tba
This course identifies core principles of digital production, to enable students to continually adapt to the ever-changing world of software. Students research and produce artworks that demonstrate their understanding of these principles. This primary knowledge includes digital film and video formats, project asset management, compression techniques, understanding program interface design, color spaces, channel mixing and filters, and the creation and use of extra channels (such as alpha and depth).
Estimated Materials Cost: $30.00
Major requirement; FAV majors
Registration by FAV department, course not available via web registration
Permission of Instructor Required
(FALL/SPRING)
FAV 5116 WRITING FOR THE SCREEN
3 credits tba
This course is an examination of all forms of writing
relevant to film and media creation. This includes a thorough study of traditional 'story film' screenwriting, as well as writing techniques for documentary production and preproduction writing problems, such as proposals, treatments, and outlines. It is also a study of nontraditional writing problems in filmmaking: writing for nonlinear or experimental films, writing for a framework for
improvisation, using text as a direct generator of filmed work, and even using text as the content of film. And last, but certainly not least, there is considerable attention paid to developing skills in critical writing. By the end of this course, students will have a portfolio of written work, including a polished draft of a short film or long-form first act, which demonstrates a wide variety of techniques for relating the written word to media.
Estimated Materials Cost: $25.00
Major elective
Prerequisites: FAV-5100 and FAV-5103 Permission of Instructor Required Fee: $20.00
(SPRING)
FAV 5117 LIGHTING FOR THE MOVING
IMAGE 3 credits Jessica Jennings
Lighting for the Moving Image is a hands-on workshop in lighting for film and video. Students are exposed to a broad range of equipment and techniques while they explore the overriding concept of light as an essential narrative element in motion picture. Workshops and discussions focus on the emotional impact of lighting as it pertains to a given story. Class time is divided between film screenings, one-day workshops on specific techniques, and an extended in-class
group project in which students present light as the key narrative element.
Estimated Materials Cost: $100.00 Deposit: $150.00
Major elective
Prerequisites: FAV-5100 and FAV-5103 Permission of Instructor Required Fee: $80.00
(FALL/SPRING)
FAV 5118 COMPUTER GENERATED
IMAGERY 3D 3 credits Edward Hart
This course uses Maya as the main tool to explore 3D digital animation, emphasizing modeling techniques. The overall goal of this course is to generalize the study of the 3D world and to give students basic problem solving skills needed for continued use of this tool. After a series of lectures covering the basics of navigating the interface, each student produces a short animation. Each student has focused, individual time with the instructor.
Major elective
Course may be repeated once for credit Permission of Instructor Required
(FALL/SPRING)
FAV 5119 DIRECTING
3 credits tba
In the Directing class, students are encouraged to go beyond the first instinct or idea, and to develop a project to its fullest potential, particularly with respect to meaning and to potential modes of execution. Students work on a variety of scenes throughout the semester, complete several short assignments during and outside of class, and read handouts and excerpts from texts. An ongoing focus throughout the semester is an exploration of the methods of communication between directors and actors. Students direct each other, young actors from the Carriage House School, professional actors from the community (brought in for two classes), and actors of their choosing for final projects. As they direct rehearsals, students utilize a variety of specific tools that enable them to maximize the creativity and fertility of their relationships with actors, and to make adjustments in performances quickly and effectively. The latter third of the semester also focuses on techniques for script analysis. These are used to discover the range of creative possibilities in a given text, and to thoroughly prepare and organize directors for rehearsals and shoots. An ongoing, general goal of the course is also for each student to reflect upon and identify their personal themes as a director.
Major elective
Prerequisite: FAV-5100 and FAV-5103 Permission of Instructor Required Fee: $75.00
Film / Animation /Video Course Descriptions 2015 - 2016
FAV 5121 EXPERIMENTAL FILM
TECHNIQUES 3 credits Bryan Papciak
An introduction to experimental cinematography, handmade film techniques, and the most fundamental level of
filmmaking, this course will emphasize the unique properties of film itself as a visual medium. Projects include in-camera special effects, hand processing, direct animation, optical printing, and contact printing. Students study classic experimental and direct animation films, including work by Len Lye, Norm McLaren, and Patrick Bokanowski. As a final project, each student will make a short piece on film utilizing techniques learned in class. No video or digital processes will be allowed.
Estimated Materials Cost: $100.00 Deposit: $150.00
Major elective
Prerequisite: 3 credits from courses FAV-5100 or FAV- W503
Permission of Instructor Required Fee: $300.00
(SPRING)
FAV 5123 CHARACTER DESIGN
3 credits Jesse Strauss
This course is a study of the theories and methods of character design as applied to narrative forms. This class asks students to push beyond stereotypical designs to develop two-dimensional characters that are both personally and culturally resonant and imaginative. Particular emphasis is placed on the expressive power of abstract forms and color. Through exploring individual perceptions of good and evil, success and failure, as well as beauty and ugliness, students create characters that are highly original. Research, thorough craftsmanship, and sophisticated design are stressed.
Elective
Permission of Instructor Required
(SPRING)
FAV 5125 FILM & VIDEO INSTALLATION 3 credits Daniel Peltz
This studio investigates monitor and projector based installation through critical readings and studio practice. Emphasis is placed on concerns of material, site, space and interactivity. The course revisits the television monitor and television viewing context as the original video installation site. Students also explore the projector and projection beam, including its shape and volume, capacity to serve as a pure light source and as a means of resurfacing three-dimensional objects. Active installation artists visit the class for lectures and critiques.
Estimated Materials Cost: $150.00 Deposit: $150.00
Open to sophomore and above Permission of Instructor Required Fee: $75.00
(SPRING)
FAV 5130 COMPUTER ANIMATION:
INTEGRATED TECHNIQUES 3 credits Gina Kamentsky
This course explores the use of the computer to create animation and motion graphics. Emphasis is placed on producing dynamic movement using keyframe interpolation and vector graphics. In addition, students will work with sound and motion data, coded expressions and effects generators to expand the range of animation possibilities. Through a series of individual and group projects, students will explore and experiment with computer animation techniques and gain experience with digital tools. A range of films will be screened complementing each week's focus. Knowledge of Adobe After Effects and Illustrator is helpful but not required. In addition to project work, students will reinforce software concepts by viewing weekly video tutorials outside class.
Estimated Materials Cost: $40.00
Elective
Permission of Instructor Required Fee: $10.00
(SPRING)
FAV 5131 DIGITAL EFFECTS AND
COMPOSITING FOR THE SCREEN 3 credits Dennis Hlynsky
This class uses Adobe After Effects as a tool to achieve the students' individual goals as artists. Starting with the basics of creating imagery in After Effects, the course moves through compositing, special effects, puppet animation and time manipulation. There is an overarching focus on core concepts such as quality of motion, layout and composition, color and form that surpass this single class. The first 6 weeks contain homework assignments that allow the students to grasp individual components of this highly technical toolset, while during the second 6 weeks the students concentrate on a final project. This project stresses the students' knowledge and forces them to grow as a digital animator as they find unique problems and solve them with instructor supervision.
Major elective
Prerequisite: FAV-5130
Permission of Instructor Required
(FALL/SPRING)
FAV 5152 INTERMEDIATE STOP-MOTION
ANIMATION 3 credits Agnieszka Woznicka
Building on skills learned in the Intro Stop-motion Animation class, students will develop and produce one short stop-motion animation for professional portfolio and public screening. This course will provide students the opportunity to focus on particular issues of stop-motion animation and explore more advanced production techniques and processes. The course emphasizes art direction and project development. Students are encouraged to experiment with individual style and techniques of armature and set building, lighting, special effects and camera techniques.